Lucy Spraggan sobs recalling Simon Cowell's apology as he learned of her rape
Lucy Spraggan broke down in tears this morning as she opened up further about being raped at the age of 20.
The former X Factor star, 31, shared how Simon Cowell apologised to her after learning she had been raped by a hotel porter during her time on the ITV show.
Lucy publicly shared her story over the weekend and detailed how the sexual assault impacted her life for over a decade.
The singer-songwriter explained how the rape happened after a night celebrating fellow contestant Rylan Clark's 25th birthday at the Mayfair nightclub Mahiki in 2012.
The former X Factor contestant is still in contact with The X Factor bossLucy, who is set to release her debut memoir this week, explained that she passed out and was taken back to the hotel by a member of the production team, where a hotel porter offered to help get Lucy to her room. The porter then flipped the security latch on her door as they left to prevent it locking behind them.
Man in 30s dies after being stabbed in park sparking police probe
Later on Rylan went to check on an unconscious Lucy and made sure her door was locked before he left. But, when the porter returned to Lucy’s room to attack her, he had to use a traceable keycard due to the door then being locked. Lucy's attacker was arrested and later jailed for 10 years.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast earlier today, Lucy became emotional as she recalled how X Factor boss Simon Cowell reacted when he learned of her brutal attack. She explained how she thought Syco, Simon's company, would be the "most aggressive" but was surprised to receive a call from them telling her Simon wanted to speak to her.
Musician shared how music mogul told her: "'Lucy, before you or I say anything else, the first thing I need to tell you is that I am sorry'." Lucy broke down in tears as she went on to say: "It makes me emotional...because no one else said sorry. He wasn't even on [the show during] my year – he wasn't even a judge – and he as a human being gave me everything I needed in two words."
Lucy cried at times during her interview with BBC Breakfast (BBC)In an interview published over the weekend, Lucy explained how she was given financial and medical support in the immediate aftermath of the crime, but she said she wasn't supported after the trial.
Lucy abruptly left The X Factor after three weeks of live shows following the rape, with it being reported she was unwell at the time. The 31-year-old had been a favourite to win the now defunct ITV talent show after winning many fans thanks singing one of her own tunes at her initial audition.
The Last Night (Beer Fear) singer told The Guardian: "No one ever contacted me to ask if I was OK. No one called or emailed when the trial was over and he was convicted. No one offered me rehabilitation or ongoing mental health treatment. I was on my own."
A spokesperson for ITV said: "We have the deepest compassion for Lucy and everything she has endured as a result of this horrific ordeal. We commend her resilience and bravery. The X Factor was produced by Thames and Syco, who were primarily responsible for duty of care towards all of its programme contributors.
"ITV as a commissioning broadcaster is committed to having in place suitable and robust oversight procedures, with a view to ensuring that independent producers employ the correct processes to protect the mental health and welfare of participants. We have evolved and improved these oversight procedures since the events in question and we are encouraged to hear that Thames recognises the importance of continuous review and improvement of their own processes.
Lucy during her original X Factor audition in 2012 (PA)"We continue to evolve our own duty of care processes on programmes we produce to ensure that there are appropriate measures in place to support contributors before, during and after filming. In an event of such a distressing nature, welfare and support towards the victim would always be of the utmost priority."
A spokesperson for Fremantle added: "The serious sexual assault suffered by Lucy Spraggan in October 2012 was a truly horrific criminal act for which the perpetrator, who was not connected with the programme, was rightfully prosecuted and imprisoned. Anyone should feel safe when they are sleeping in a hotel room - and it is abhorrent to think that a hotel porter abused that trust in such a vile way.
Russian model killed after calling Putin a 'psychopath' was strangled by her ex
"To our knowledge, the assault was an event without precedent in the UK television industry. Whilst we believed throughout that we were doing our best to support Lucy in the aftermath of the ordeal, as Lucy thinks we could have done more, we must therefore recognise this. For everything Lucy has suffered, we are extremely sorry.
"Since then, we have done our very best to learn lessons from these events and improve our aftercare processes. Whilst we have worked hard to try and protect Lucy’s lifetime right to anonymity, we applaud her strength and bravery now that she has chosen to waive that right."
* If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
